1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of pharmaceutical preparations, particularly those for sexual enhancement in men, women, the disabled, and the aged.
2. Relevant Technology
There are a variety of health issues that can impact the ability or desire to engage in intimate sexual relations, which form a healthy part of adult relationships. These include sexual dysfunction in men and women and a loss of sensitivity and pleasure. The inability to perform and/or lack of desire to engage in sexual relations can detrimentally impact a relationship and can lead to divorce, breakup, or long-term boredom. It can lead to loss of self-esteem or even mental illness.
Men are more likely than women to have threshold desire to have sex, which is both a physical and psychological need, and are therefore more likely to initiate sex with a partner. When a man is extremely stressed, anxious or insecure, however, his ability to perform can also be inhibited physically (temporary erectile dysfunction). Older or sick men can suffer chronic erectile dysfunction (“ED”), which can be completely incapacitating relative to ability to perform. Particularly as men age and/or if suffering from chronic illness, they can experience lack of threshold desire, loss of sensitivity, loss of pleasure and/or difficulty in climaxing. At the opposite end of the spectrum is premature ejaculation which, while not preventing performance, can severely curtail duration and satisfaction for both participants.
In women, sexual dysfunction is more complex and difficult to define but can involve lack of threshold desire, loss of sensitivity, loss of pleasure and/or inability to climax. Emotional and psychological sexual dysfunction is more common among women, which is probably the main reason many women never achieve orgasm during sex. They get stuck in a rut emotionally and mentally. There are many studies that show that women commonly have very real insecurities about body image and carry their stresses and anxieties of life with them into the bedroom. These insecurities and stresses greatly impact the mood-factor (emotional and psychological state) and inhibit physiological arousal, such as decreased blood flow to the clitoris and labia, often making orgasm unattainable.
Compared to men, women have more complex emotions that can be barriers to threshold desire. Women are more sensitive sexually to their insecurities, stresses, and anxieties than men. Books and commentators have been known to say: “sex is much more emotional for women than men.” Also, men often view sex as a way to release and reduce stress and tension. In contrast, women often identify sex with increased stress and anxiety, particularly women who both work outside the home and raise children. Examples of hypothetical stresses include: “I'm not in the mood.” “I'm stressed or tired from work, the kids, play dates, managing the household, dirty dishes.” “Really? We're doing this now, etc.?” So, sex can becomes another item on an already stressful checklist. Examples of hypothetical anxieties include: “I'm not in the mood.” “I think I've put on a few pounds.” “My butt doesn't look good.” “I feel bloated and hormonal.” “Will I be able to perform for my partner, act sufficiently interested, be interested, etc.?”
While there are drugs (e.g., Viagra®, Cialis® and Levitra®) that can remedy ED and permit men to perform sexually, they generally do not restore lost sensitivity, diminished enjoyment, or difficulty in climaxing. Such drugs are generally ineffective for women because they do not adequately address issues involving lack of threshold desire, loss of sensitivity, loss of pleasure or inability to climax (i.e., because they do virtually nothing to address powerful psychological forces affecting women).
In fact, the main reason physiological enhancers for women on the market today do not work is because none addresses the mood-factor. Unlike men, who feel buildup of semen and equate it with sexual tension and need to find sexual release, the trigger for women to desire sex is typically not physical but psychological and strongly correlated with mood and self-image. Their emotional and psychological state can actually dictate physiological response, arousal and performance significantly more than in men. And while men are notorious finishers during sex, women are not so prone (50% reportedly never achieving orgasm during sex). This is generally not due to a lack of physical stimulation but rather emotional barriers or inhibitions. Only enhancing the physiological response in women cannot address an inability to reach climax.
Many of the foregoing problems are particularly acute in men and women who suffer from physical ailments and/or age-related conditions that cause sexual dysfunction and/or lack of desire and enjoyment. Again, it must be emphasized that performance does not necessarily coincide with normal enjoyment of sexual relations. Drugs that only address lack of performance but fail to address diminished desire, sensitivity and pleasure are incomplete solutions.
While there are herbal supplements that purport to address some or all of the foregoing issues, there remains a long-felt but unmet need to find compositions that effectively and reliably addresses diminished performance while also increasing desire, sensitivity and enjoyment.